School Allotment Project update

[petemason]

I apologise to all of you who showed such interest in the garden/allotment project I started at my children's school. For a variety of reasons, no computer/no digital camera/laziness I haven't been able to post regular updates but I think it is high time I did!
At first, it was incredibly hard work to prepare the ground and juggle work on my own plot with the one at school. I quickly found out that you can't just leave instructions for people to 'get on with it' because they don't! The classrooms ended up with sad looking cabbage plants that hadn't been watered, broad beans that had been grown in a dark corner and gone leggy and all manner of problems that needed my attention.
I made the mistake of thinking that, because they were teachers, the staff would know a little bit about growing. Wrong!

Add to all this the insistence of the caretaker that we had to have a shed and a fence round the area (all at great cost) and by March I was beginning to think we'd get nowhere.
Thankfully, I was wrong. We've had a bumper crop including the best looking cauliflowers I've ever seen (I can never get them to grow myself), tons of broad beans, peas, carrots, beetroot, squash, courgettes, potatoes, onions, cabbage etc etc. The biggest success has been with the Reception children who have not only taken to gardening like a duck to water but have started to grow things at home.
I can't go to the local supermarket without some little voice shouting "Hello Mr. Mason!!" before introducing me to Mum/Dad/Grandma/Grandad. One parent approached me and said that the cabbage was the best she'd ever tasted!
To cap it all, on the last day of last term the headmistress informed me that the school had been awarded a 'Healthy Eating Award' and she wants me to accept it on the school's behalf.
There have been down sides of course. Weeding seems to be avoided where possible and I'm going to have to insist it is done next year but apart from that it has been a success. I'm amused every time I open the shed and see the row of child-sized tools, it reminds me of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves!

[petemason]

[cornykev]

Well done Pete and keep up the good work,and  happy digging.  ;D ;D ;D

[kitten]

Hey pete, good to hear from you, sounds like you've had a busy time of it  ;D

Pics look great, keep em coming if you've time  :D

You deserve to collect the award on behalf of the school - did you mention they were going to use the produce for school dinners?  Or are they all taking things home with them?

Keep up the great work, there's no better way to get kids interested in eating healthily, you're doing an amazing thing  ;D

[caroline7758]

Well done, Pete- you should be really proud of yourself for getting the project up and running. Arethe kids still helping in the holidays?

[saddad]

Great stuff... know what you mean about the cauli's though!
;D

[petemason]

We haven't used any of the produce for school dinners as the meals are prepared elsewhere and delivered by taxi  ::).
What we did do was sell it to the parents as they picked the children up. We asked for donations rather than price it all up and on the whole parents have been generous.
The only help I've had in the holidays is from my two kids but they've always been keen to lend a hand. One of the teachers even asked my son how to plant potatoes!
I'm going to try and grow heritage veg next year. I've joined the Heritage Seed Library and Thomas Etty is going to be our main seed supplier.
The other good news is that I managed to get an 8 x 4 greenhouse for nothing from Dontdumpthat.com. It's made of polycarbonate so the head teacher is happy nobody's going to go head first through it.

[saddad]

Well done Pete.. as an HSL member I have a range of Toms and Fr Beans and Peas if you want some to keep your choices open when the Cat comes out before Xmas.. give me a PM...
>:(

[petemason]

I'll bear that in mind - thanks.

[markfield rover]

Congratulations, remember planting things at primary school and asking  my teacher for a spade he
replied that the best tool you can have is your hands ,40 years on it's what I tell my lot.
Seeds of Italy do a seeds for schools 'range'.

[Lauren S]

What a great project Pete. Keep up the fantastic work. Start 'em young, the best way \0/.  ;D

[lorna]

Wow Pete. Really glad to hear that things have turned out well. Must be very rewarding after all the hard work you have put in to the project. May it continue.
Lorna

[gordonsveg]

VERY WELL DONE PETE, ;D ;D 8)
Its nice to know there are still people like you, you might have started a whole new generation of gardeners. Well done mate.
   

[cambourne7]

Pete this is ace, your not only doing something fun with the kids but your preparing the allotment holders of the future.

Brilliant work.

Cambourne7

[ThomsonAS]

This is  really impressive.
The next door plot to mine is also supposed to be a school plot  for the primary school that ajoins our site. It started about 4 months ago after being rotavated and napalmed (but a bit too late to get anything much planted).  Apart from an impressive metal sign and some scarecrows there's nothing on it but bindweed. I keep having to clear it back to keep it encroaching onto my beds.

I guess nobody thought-through how to maintain over the school summer holidays. How do you manage things? I think many on my site might be a bit wary about too many teachers and parents having keys if it's done on a rota because the site is security fenced and gated (to keep the little angels rampaging around following difficulties with trespassing in the past!)

Alastair

[Robert_Brenchley]

That's the problem with a school vegetable-growing project; so many things either mature or need attention just when they're all on holiday.

[petemason]

Hi again. One of the problems has been how to maintain everything throughout the year. It's not like taking the school hamster home during the holidays! Consequently, I avoided growing things that didn't mature till August (sweetcorn being the main casualty). All the maintenance since July 20th has been done by myself, my two children and the school caretaker.
All the onions and potatoes that I've picked since July are being stored and the carrots will survive till next week when I intend selling them to the parents of the new Reception class!
What I think is important is that some produce was ready before the holidays and the children could see the fruits of their labours.
I've had to make myself realise that the school garden is different from my own. It isn't massively important how successful it is in terms of produce, the fact that the children are out in the fresh air and learning how plants grow and produce food is.

[mackem]

Fantastic project Pete, very,very well done. ;)

[Uncle Joshua]

Well done Pete, If only I could get my five kids to help out.

[tilts]

Well done for all your efforts. 
I had the wildlife class visit my plots before the end of last term, it was great to see them all walking along from school with their teacher and they overran their time.  It was a really interesting time, not only for them but for me, one of the questions I asked was "why do you think i have so much carpet on the allotment?" 
I chose this really bright looking lad, you know the tallest one ~ with his hand reaching into the sky higher than the other children ~ he answered brightly "so the beans don't bruise if they fall!"
mmmmmm... should i have chosen the shortest child? not on your nelly, he was so keen and he cared.......  i think i shall invite them during the winter, i wonder if the woodlice will have baby woodlice in their tummies then ~ yuk :-X